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Low Milk Supply and Biting???

Elizabeth - posted on 11/21/2008 ( 4 moms have responded )

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Hi everyone!! My daughter Sophia is 9 months old. I tried to exclusively BF her but when she was about 6 wks old we were sent to the hospital and she was diagnosed as failure to thrive and I wasn't really given an option to continue exclusively BF'ing her. I was really frustrated that I was forced to put her on formula and I felt like it was making what was a borderline milk supply even lower. Since then I have worked at keeping her BF but have continued to supplement w/ formula because of her slow weight gain. I feel like the BF support group at the hospital has been a joke. Very well intentioned but not really all that informative and the LLL meetings here have been really hard to get to. My problem now is that at 9 mo. we really only BF early in the morning and occasionally before a nap. Sometimes we'll get some BF in at bedtime but not always. She is starting to bite and I'm wondering if I should start the weaning process or if I should just stick with it and keep telling her NO!! when she bites down. It scares her and she starts to cry and I don't want her to associate BF w/a scary experience, but I also don't want to be a chew toy. Also I was wondering if any other moms who had a low milk supply with their 1st had better luck with subsequent babies and what advice you all could offer. Thanks!!! :)

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Elizabeth - posted on 11/21/2008

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Oh and to answer your questions I really don't remember but I'm pretty sure I wasn't feeding every two hours. Probably more like every 3-4 so that makes sense. I do feel frustrated that the doctors didn't really ask me about any of that...they just put her on formula.

Elizabeth - posted on 11/21/2008

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Nicole...thank you so much for your post. Since she is nine months old and she has started solids should I try to get my supply back up? I feel really frustrated with both my pediatrician and the BF support group at the hospital because both of their attitudes is basically that she's almost ready to be weaned anyway so there really isn't any point, but I'm not feeling ready to stop yet, except for the moment after she bites! :) I know that the recommendation is to BF up until 1 yr and the WHO recommends up to two years, but how much of their nutrition should come from food at 1 yr and how much from breast milk? Thanks again!!

Nicole - posted on 11/21/2008

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Oh and by the way, you are absolutely right that supplementing is/has impacted your supply. There is just no way around it. BFing is all about supply and demand. When you give formula that is a feeding that is not being demanded of your body so of course it is not going to make/supply that feeding. As you can see you have milk for the few times you do nurse, so your body is supplying exactly what is being demanded of it. If you demand more by nursing and even pumping, it will produce/supply more.

Nicole - posted on 11/21/2008

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Couple questions and suggestions... those 1st 6 weeks, were you nursing every 2-3 hours from the start of one feeding to the start of the next feeding around the clock? Not the end of one feeding, waiting 2-3 hours to start the next, but 2-3 hours from start to start? That is really what is needed (every 2 hours really) for the first 1-2 months to ensure good weight gain and supply. Not many mom's know this. It's usually experience mom's that figure this out and pass on the information. If you were not doing this, I would recommend this BIG TIME next time around. Even nursing every hour during the day or at a minimum in the evening (Cluster feeding).

Then I would suggest making it a point to nurse more if you are wanting to keep it up. It may be she's teething or it may be she's frustrated because she wants more milk. I would continue to tell her no, firmly, but not too loud or harshly and take her off the breast for a few minutes. Hold her close, tell her you love her, but she cannot bite you because it hurts mommy and is giving you a big ouchy. Then try again.

Best wishes, hopefully more mom's will have ideas/suggestions.

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